#housewifeproblems : Stinky Yoga Mats

Does your downward dog stink? No like literally smell bad?

Maybe I can help.

How often do you clean your yoga mat? 

I used to try all sorts of methods to clean my mat.

I soaked it in the tub with lysol.

I scrubbed it with clorox wipes.

I've even sprayed it down with a hose and let it dry in the sun.

However, non of these methods ever really seemed to do the trick,

or my mat would be soaked for days.

So, I finally asked my perfectly holistic yoga instructor 

what she did to keep her mat clean and stank free.

And this is what she told me.....

Stinky Yoga Mat Spray:

You will need an empty spray bottle (preferably one with a finer mist), 

witch hazel, and tea tree oil.

If you want to jazz up your bottle you will also need some decorative tape and a sharpie.

Step 1:

If you are up-cycling a bottle your first step is going to be to clean it out 

with hot soapy water.

If you are going to make it pretty,

wrap that sucker in your favorite decorative tape.

I used packaging tape, but you could also use duct tape or even washi tape.

Step 2:

So I have to admit here that I didn't really use any measurements.

I filled my bottle half way with witch hazel...

Then I added about a tablespoon of tea tree oil.

Step 3:

Give that bottle a little swirl and shake and label it.

Spray the solution all over your mat and give it a really good wipe down.

I was shocked by how much came off of my mat, so I actually did it twice.

The beauty of it all....

My mat dried instantly!

So I am throwing this in my yoga back to use after every class from now on!

Enjoy!

Thankful Thursday....late again

So, I decided that Thankful Thursday was going to be a bit of a change this week.  Instead of my super insightful words of wisdom random ramblings about why we should show gratitude towards others, I am just going to give a great big opened armed thank you of my own....laced with a bit of levity.

For the past few months I have been dying to go to Thursday night yoga 

at my gym.  The instructor has substituted my normal friday morning class a few times and is always amazing.  Due to scheduling conflicts with bed time and the hubs work schedule,

I had never found the time to make it to that 8pm session.

Well this week was different.

When I asked the hubs if I could go, his answer was "of corse".

While the class I normally take is definitely difficult,

the Thursday night class was a whole new world.

The age demographic and amount of strength possessed by the other participants was 

a bit intimidating.  But I found myself challenged in a new way that I wasn't sure existed inside me.

I stretched further, breathed deeper, and was more focused than normal.

All of that yoga talk about radiating light and transferring energy all really made sense.

It was no longer just talk, I really felt all of those things.

I was able to hold poses that I didn't know were in my practice,

and also came across a few that I didn't know existed and have new goals to conquer.

In our final shavasana I really was at peace.

I am normally having an internal argument with the voices in my head telling them to shut up so I can have a still and peaceful mind. Ha.

When it was all said and done it was the best yoga class I have ever taken,

and I have the hubs to thank for that.

So darling, Thank you for always making my dreams come true.

To everyone else, sorry this was a day late...

I was too busy nursing my sore body back to life last night,

and 'thanking' my husband for being so awesome.

And a brief note on the above video.

Fog and Smog produced these hilarious music videos on YouTube.

You really should check them all out! 

Yoga Girl has been stuck in my head since the first time I saw it, 

and I can't help but hum that little tune when in my down dog.

Thankful Thursday

(source)

Do you ever just pause.

Stop everything.

Close your eyes, stand still, and just... 

be?

In a world where we are chasing the perpetual rabbit and 

in a constant battle with being bigger and better and stronger,

it's easy for us to just forget it all and be happy.

Society pressures us to strive to be better

and to search for the next best thing.

But what is wrong with where you are?

Right at this very moment.

Is there peace and happiness 

right where you stand?

Take that moment.

Stop searching and trying so hard.

It's already here.

Your perfect moment.

You have to just be.

Be Grateful & Inspire

30x30

Today. Day 4.

I took some guilt free time to myself.

15 minutes to be exact.

15 minutes to sit in the sauna after a  very hard yoga class.

And do you know what?

I didn't feel bad about it at all.

10 things i couldn't live without this week

1. this week i marched my butt into a gym and signed up for a membership.  i have been feeling fat and tired lately and there is not point in just sitting around in my misery.  gyms are really intimidating to me and especially now that i am older.  it seems that the older i get the more insecure about myself i am becoming.  walking into a gym to me is like that classic movies where girls are being hazed by their sorority sisters and they are circling all the fat on their bodies with markers. ugh.  all the hard bodied girls who wear makeup to exercise and have a more fashionable gym attire than my normal everyday wear. yikes. well i decided that i wasn't going to let any of it get to me. i was going to face my fears and insecurities and i was going to exercise. in a gym. with other people.
2. one of the best things about being a gym member is having access to group fitness classes! and i took the best yoga class this week.  i can't wait until wednesday so i can go back for more.
3. my crafting productivity has been at an all time high lately.  the hubs and i have been powering through some projects. keep your eyes peeled this week for my new jewelry hanger, magnetic make up frame, and next week i will share some goodies that i made for a friends baby.
4. i have been trying to cut back on my diet coke consumption. and surprisingly i am doing very well. i am down to one a day and killing it! and best thing about it....i am substituting all that diet coke with about 64 extra oz of water a day.
5. we have been having some crazy weather lately. i am not going to lie... i really love it. we went for a hand full of days with constant rain, then a few days of 90° blue skies and today we woke up to some very chilly 40°.  mother nature is keeping us on our toes down here in south florida.
6. we had a super family fun day saturday. we woke up early and headed to the city diner for breakfast, scooted over to bed bath and beyond, then decided that it was the perfect day for the beach.  we got home threw together a picnic and cruised down to the ocean.  this was the first time this year that the beach was genuinely packed with people. holes were dug, waves were rode, sandy sandwiches devoured.  a great day was had by all.
7. the hubs and i went on the best date night ever saturday! i think that we agreed that it really was the best date ever. we met up with some friends for dinner at an awesome burger joint, burgerfi. then we went to see the dropkick murphy's at the pompano beach amphitheater.  this was the first show the hubs had been to since before the boy was born. and boy we were going out in style.  my girlfriends, who are long time friends with the band, got us all access backstage passes. we were on stage, in the green room, and post show hanging out at the busses drinking the band beer. it was all a dream come true for the hubs and i was so happy that i could make it all happen for him! best date night ever!
8. oh and where was the boy this whole entire date night? at his first ever slumber party. my fantastic friend christine offered to take the boy. he proclaimed her little girl to be his girl friend. so cute! he spent the night with their family, partied it up, and from what i am told was an angle! he was so tuckered out the next day that he actually passed out on the sofa....so cute.
9. the boy and i had some serious luck garage sale-ing this weekend. he scooped up a hand full of matchbox helicopters and airplanes, and i found an adorable mid-century side table....for only $1. it needs some serious work, but for a dollar....i'll buy that project!
10. my friend christine passed me on some seriously amazing vintage fabric for my birthday! i am so excited of it's possibilities! and there is a lot of it too so i am thinking that there may be some larger projects in my future! can't wait to share them with you!
9.